San Francisco County
Biographies
WILLIAM WINTER
WILLIAM WINTER,
who died November 6, 1890,
was one of the pioneer settlers of California,
having arrived in this State in the early part of 1850. He was born in Greenwich
township, Warren county,
New Jersey, in 1825, and received
his early education in the public schools of Belvidere. His father, Daniel F. Winter, was the Sheriff
of Warren county for some years, and also kept a hotel
in Belvidere,
in both of which occupations he was assisted for some years by the subject of
this sketch, and who in turn filled the office of Sheriff himself. Later Mr.
Winter removed to New York city,
where he remained until 1849 engaged in mercantile pursuits. Meanwhile his family had removed to Wisconsin,
where they had permanently settled. In
1849, attracted by the wonderful stories of the gold found in the new El
Dorado of the West, he started for New
York, where he took passage on one of the first ships
starting to this coast by way of Panama. Being detained on the Isthmus, he did not
reach California until early in
1850. He engaged for a short time in
mining, but soon decided to enter the pursuits connected with business
life. He at first opened an
establishment for sign painting, at which he was an adept, and in which he
received the first premium for ornamental sign painting at both the Mechanics’
Industrial Exposition and the Bay District Fair at San
Francisco in 1860. For the past twenty years Mr.
Winter has been engaged in real estate transactions, mostly in city
property. He was a member of the Vigilance
Committee of 1856, and assisted prominently in clearing the city of its
obnoxious elements.
Mr. Winter was
married in 1858 to Miss Fanny M. Croft, of Horicon,
Wisconsin, a native of Lincolnshire,
England, and daughter of
Matthew E. Croft, who removed to the United Stated, and lived to the age of
ninety years in Dodge county, Wisconsin. Mr. Winter had eleven children, of whom two
sons and six daughters are now living, the eldest being Mrs. G. G. Wickson, of this city.
Another daughter is Mrs. E. G. Salsig, living
in Mendocino county.
Mr. Winter was a life member of the San Francisco Art Association, and
of the Mercantile Library Association; also, for many years Secretary of the
Territorial Pioneer Association.
Transcribed 8-17-05 Marilyn R. Pankey.
Source: "The Bay of San Francisco," Vol. 2, Page 264, Lewis
Publishing Co, 1892.
©
2005 Marilyn R. Pankey.
California Biography Project
San Francisco County
California Statewide
Golden Nugget Library